CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY Satellite Radio Awaits Reception XM set to start broadcasting 100 channels on Tuesday; Sirius close behind.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: Patrick Seitz

A new era in radio is set to dawn Tuesday when XM Satellite Radio Inc. starts broadcasting from its two satellites, which it's named Rock and Roll.

XM is the first of two digital satellite radio services to go live. The two say they'll offer listeners a big leap forward in program quality and quantity vs. today's radio broadcasts. But to get the service, consumers will need to buy special car radios that cost about $300, and pay a service charge of $10 a month.

"We have a shot at changing the way people listen to radio, the same way cable television changed TV," said Steve Cook, senior vice president of sales and marketing for XM. "We bring that same breadth of variety that just doesn't exist on the radio today."

Washington, D.C.-based XM has spent at least $1.4 billion developing its business and has yet to make a dime. Its investors and partners …